By Alistair Smout

LONDON (Reuters – A study in The Lancet published Friday revealed that the COVID-19 epidemic caused a spike in anxiety in major depressive disorders and panic attacks around the world. This was especially true for young women.

Research found that school closings had a negative impact on young people. Many women were left with the burden of housework and are at greater risk for domestic violence.

Research by Australian academics from the University of Queensland found that 53 million people with major depressions, such as COVID-19, were also affected.

Alize Ferrari, co-author of the study (NYSE:) stated, “Sadly, due to many reasons women were always more likely be worse affected from the economic and social consequences of the pandemic.”

“Additional care and household responsibilities are more common for women than men, because they are more susceptible to being victims to domestic violence.

School closures and other curbs limited “young people’s ability to learn and interact with their peers,” she added.

It included 48 previous studies, which were conducted around the globe. The results of these research were combined in a meta-analysis that quantified the number and prevalence of mental illnesses in 204 countries.

It was “the first global understanding of the impact of anxiety and depression disorders on the epidemic,” said the linked commentary piece’s authors, who weren’t involved in the research.

The study found that there had been an 28% rise in major depressive disorders to 246,000,000 cases. This is an increase of 193 million cases if the pandemic hadn’t occurred.

The 26% increase in anxiety cases was similar to the 298 million pandemic cases.

Researchers warned there wasn’t enough high-quality data to assess the effect of pandemics on mental health in the poorer nations. Therefore, extrapolating estimates of those affected countries must be considered with caution.